Remember when everyone found out what Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady ate, so everyone tried to eat like them?
Remember when Gwyneth Paltrow said she was doing a goat-milk cleanse, so then all of these bloggers tried to do a goat-milk cleanse too?
Remember when cavemen food was all the rage, then it was about chowing down according to your blood type; for a while it was all about low-fat, then high-fat, vegan, raw, gluten-free, dairy-free or my particular favorite, Bread Only. (I can’t find anyone to endorse this one, oddly enough.)
We are constantly inundated with new ways to eat. Just when you thought you knew how to chew — BAM! — a new fad diet comes out, this one guaranteed to boost your energy, promote better sleep, make your hair shiny and teach you how to play the saxophone or something. It’s gotten to the point that when I found out about the “intuitive eating diet,” I was like, How niche! How odd! We have to try it! Let’s assign it to someone.
We gave the story to Katie Sturino because she is my most intuitive-eating friend. She eats when she’s hungry, has chocolate without declaring that she’s giving herself a cheat day and likes salad because being an adult means eating veggies at your own will. I was so excited to see her track her chewing because, since she doesn’t think about it, I figured she might come to some grand revelation.
Of course, what happened is that she didn’t. At the end of her assigned days she was like, “Here you go, weirdo. Here is what I ate.” The intuitive eating diet is just that: intuitive. It’s a little scary to live in such a diet-fad-y world that “just eating” is marketable as a fad diet…and worse that for just once second, I bought into it? Anyway, here you go: Katie Sturino’s non-diet diet. I’ll be here eating a waffle while you read it. — Amelia
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Sunday
The closest I will ever come to “skinny” is if you cut me in half. I’m very comfortable with this fact. I’m happiest in a bikini and try to live my best life in the body I’ve got. I’m still human, though. To say that I woke up one day and decided to “just accept myself” oversimplifies the process that it takes to get to a better place — but I am committed to working on acceptance and taking the pressure off as often as I can. When I find myself stressing out, I’ve learned to ask myself, “What makes me feel good?” Does that mean taking a nap, diving into work, exercising, walking my dog? The answers vary, but I try to listen.
7:15 am: Woke up insanely early (the perk of being a sober person). Decided the perfect thing to do would be to pack up my dogs and drive to Central Park, hitting Underwest Donuts (it’s inside a car wash on the West Side Highway) on the way.
Got a Halva and a fresh sugar doughnut that was still warm.
11:30 am: I was starving due to lack of protein so I met up with friend at Toby’s for their avocado egg toast.
7:00 pm: Ordered Chop Shop Thai food (salt-and-pepper shrimp, drunken noodles) and settled into my couch for a Sunday Scary Session.
Monday
7:00 am: Wake up and head to the Highline Hotel for Intelligentsia coffee with oat milk. Who knew you could milk oats, am I right, Robert De Niro?
7:30 am: I know you’re supposed to eat right away in the mornings because it’s good for your body but I hate it, so I make sure my breakfast is super delicious. Today this means Kite Hill almond cream cheese on an English muffin with blueberry jam.
10:00 am: Coffee from the Highline Hotel followed by a workout with my trainer, Carlos.
12:30 pm: Lunch at ABC Kitchen where I have my absolute favorite: carrot salad with Greek yogurt sauce.
4:00 pm: It’s a beautiful day to walk the dogs. I pass my favorite gelato shop that has the MOST AMAZING hazelnut sorbet. I treat myself because the sun is shining.
When it comes to food, I think about what Jessica Pearson from Path Nutrition told me: “Food is medicine.” She believes that sometimes your body needs protein and vegetables, and sometimes, your body needs a giant slice of birthday cake. I’m a sugar devil. I also really like vegetables. I could live on ice cream, sushi and spinach forever, but that combination would make me feel like crap. Like everything else (especially on Goop), it’s all about balance.
7:00 pm: I meet up with a friend at Jack’s Wife Frieda and get the Fish a La Plancha and French fries.
Tuesday
7:00 am: Hit that same coffee shop. I’m not the only one with a routine there…
7:45 am: I have been eating this hot cereal because it was recommended to me for its protein and lack of grains. I mix it with fruit because I’m wild!
10:00 am: Workout with Carlos. I drink a lot of water and LaCroix seltzer, by the way. I’m drinking both constantly but you would get so bored if I kept telling you.
11:00 am: I had a coffee earlier but forgot to document it.
1:30 pm: I work from home so lunch is often eaten in my kitchen. I usually eat these amazing pre-made meals from Euphebe. I love when someone else does the thinking for me.
3:30 pm: I need a snack. I make microwaved eggs (a trick my mom taught me because I hate getting a pan dirty for two eggs). I toss some spinach on top of the egg, plus feta on an English muffin.
7:30 pm: I go to see Beauty and the Beast in the movie theater and have one of my favorite dinners: movie popcorn.
Like I said: balance. Whatever that means.
Collage by Maria Jia Ling Pitt; iPhone photos via Katie Sturino.
